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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | response | Rom 1:18 | Morant61 | 20656 | ||
Personal Comments............................. Greetings Hank! One of the best examples of the "fortress mentality" that I have seen occurred a few years ago. I was pastoring a medium size church. During the time that they didn't have a pastor, they started a Sunday Evening fellowship time (basically a small group) which meet in a private home in the garage. It was a wonderful time of prayer, fellowship, food, devotions, singing. We were averaging about 30 people every week. The wonderful thing was that people were able to bring friends who might not be comfortable in the church. Unfortunately, someone got the bright idea that we should be holding this "event" in the church fellowship hall. I tried to advise against it, but I was overruled. Just as I suspected, attendance dropped immediately to about 10 people. One of these days we will learn that we, the people, are the church - not the building! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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2 | response | Rom 1:18 | Hank | 20688 | ||
Tim, good observation. The inept phrase, "going to church" that has sneaked into our common expression might ought to be amended. A more accurate and telling way of saying it would be something more like "the church going to the building." When a couple of years ago my wife and I had occasion to visit a place of worship in downtown Boston, we heard someone remark about what a magnificent "church" this was. Indeed the building itself was a fine tribute to architectural splendor, and it rivaled some of the best of Europe's cathedrals. But when we attended the worship service there, we were frankly shocked. Inside sprawled a gorgeous sanctuary that easily would have held 2,000 people and scattered about among the pews were fewer than 100 worshipers, the majority of whom were, like us, visitors. Doesn't this beg the question, Magnificent church or magnificent building? There is indeed a salient difference, and I believe our experience in Boston was a stark and poignant illustration of the difference. --Hank | ||||||